Chrono Trigger Revelations:The First Stars
by Faiga-Lani
Summary: First fanfic...An adventure set in the apocaliptic future of the world of Chrono Trigger. Slow paced. Please R
1. Default Chapter

The First Stars:

Revealing the Lights in the Pitch Night

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Disclaimer: 

Long story short, Chrono trigger is a registered trademark of Square-Enix. In case you don't know, the guys that makes Final Fantasies games and movies, etc.

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Chapter one:

The Shooting Stars

"Ow! What the heck did I hit?"

"I told you to watch out! The place's like a maze."

"I know Ro! But couldn't you bring something that could light the way?"

"Melanie said we couldn't…now that I remember—Hey Pookey! Where are you?"

A squeaky light voice echoed through the dark building. "Straight ahead, squeak! And lower your heads, Squeak!"

"We've been around here for four days, what are we going to find?"

"Pookey said he found some things that might be useful, and were getting closer, Ilia."

Ilia sighed, releasing some of the stress that she carried, but aware of the danger that might fall to them.

Following the dark passage, they ended in front of a closed door, with a dim light revealing their appearances. Robert, or Ro, as he preferred to be called, had straight black hair and beige skin; while Ilia had a wavy hair and light skin, both around the age of 17 and wearing many kinds of rags to protect themselves from the cold.

"Do you think there could be food?" Ilia asked hopefully.

"Maybe, squeak!" Pookey answered, lifting himself on his hind legs and touching a panel aside from the door. Pookey was one of the many oddities of monsters that learned human language. Being a rat, he felt safer around people, yet he felt more comfortable with the two he was with now.

The door opened with a quick hissing, letting the cold air of the room reach them, making them shudder. As they walked in, Pookey climbed on Ilia's shoulder; the room was large enough to fit a large group of people with enough space to spare. The storage boxes were all undamaged; fallen pieces of the ceiling were scattered around the room. Ro ran to a computer terminal, turning it on and searching the status of the floor they were recently in.

"Hey! Pookey hasn't taught me that! How come you know!" ILia said as she saw Ro working his way in the computer. Pookey jumped down from her shoulder to Ro's.

"You complain a lot.—here! The refrigeration system is still working; should last a few more years" He walked away to the storages and opened one. "You think the monsters will find this place?" Ro asked, already packing the food stored inside; Ilia doing the same.

"Hardly. Those mutants live around here, they'll just eat anything that moves within their sights." Ilia cleared their doubts. "And those acid monsters only appear if you get too close to them."

"Organisms squeak!"

"There's one thing that's been bothering me." Ilia finished stuffing her bag, being smaller than Ro's, and crouched in front of Pookey. "Where'd you learned all this?" She asked.

"Don't know. I just knew."

"I don't believe you. Melanie will have to ask you someday." Ilia told Pookey with a smile.

"That day won't come, at least not yet squeak!" Pookey answered amused.

Ro walked to them, already with his pack full. After finishing, they closed the door behind as it was, hoping nothing would damage the room, and return there when they needed. Pookey led them through the dark and finally out of the crumbled building. Silently, they avoided the know monsters, including some of the mutants, and walking to Arris Dome; their home. From afar, they could see the barren city, with its blowing debris and twisting metal, silhouetted from the stormy, grey sky, which seemed to last forever.

_CTR_

"Where have you two been? Four days have passed, and we thought you were dead!" Melanie, a young woman, was scowling at them. Her light brown hair and hazel eyes, penetrating their very own.

I told you we were at the city ruins!" Ro answered back in defense, lowering his bag and showing her what he and Ilia found.

"We took a long time avoiding the mutants." Ilia answered too, unpacking her bag.

"The mutants!" Melanie asked in anger. "That place is crawling with them! And I've told you not to go there!"

"They weren't that much of them, squeak! So I asked if the wanted to go there." The rat answered in it's calmly way, walking to a floor rag that laid there; he stretched and picked one of the cans to eat. Melanie stared at him for a moment, and then turned to her friends.

"I guess that if Pookey went with you, you were a lot safer inside those ruins. But I don't want you going there again without telling me! " Melanie said. She lowered to the items they brought and started sorting them. One bag for the few people the lived with them, mostly teens seeking an answer to their existence, and the rest to the people in charge of the storage area in Arris. Most of the teens were lured by the same Rat that was sleeping on the floor, to this place, were they learned more about their surroundings, the youngest one being Ro and Ilia.

"Okay, that's all. Take the rest to Doan, and don't wander off anywhere!"

"Can we stay there for a while?" Ro asked.

"Just for this day" Melanie answered, while opening some of the items, giving them to the people nearby.

I'll make sure he doesn't wander, Mel." Ilia said, knowing Ro's tendency to disobey Melanie. Ro picked up the already closed bag, and made their way to another area of the Dome.

As they walked further into the building, they could hear excitement and intrigue coming from afar. The door opened, revealing the people gathered at a spot. The three of them walked to the woman near the entrance, watching the small turmoil from a distance. She was around her mid-30s, with black hair and eyes.

"So you finally came back. Melanie told me that she hadn't seen you in the last days." The woman said as soon as she recognized them.

"Yeah well, Melanie likes to exaggerate things too much." Ro answered.

"We brought some stuff for you." Ilia said.

Ro handed his own bag to Jade, as was her name. He then turned to see the people gathered. "What's happening there, Jade?"

"Oh, there? A group of three strange dressed people brought seeds from the storage room. Everyone's exited as to what it could bear."

"The storage room?" Ilia exclaimed. "But that place's guarded by security!"

"I don't know exactly how they managed through, but I think they shut down those." Jade said.

Anything else?" Ro asked, turning again to her.

"Ask Doan. They mostly spoke to him."

Ilia and Ro shared glances. He immediately went to the crowd.

"Thanks Jade. We'll be seeing you soon." Ilia said as she followed Ro. Pookey jumped from her shoulder to his for a better view.

From the center, Doan saw Ro and Ilia approaching. He walked until he faced them. "Melanie was scared because of you. You shouldn't do that to her."

"(Melanie's going to have her mouth shut tight after this!)" Ro thought.

"It doesn't matter." Ilia responded smiling. "We're here, right?"

"What's everyone so exited about?" Ro asked.

"Because of those seeds." Doan said as he showed them the pot with dirt. "They said something about this being their future. I didn't understand them very well."

Ilia looked at Ro, and she saw that he was looking at Doan, still. She remembered that face any time, Ro was curious about these people, and what's lying in the building below the stairs.

"Is it possible to go down there?" He asked.

"Yes, but…they're still monsters lurking down there. If you're really going down there, please be very careful. I don't like the idea of worrying Melanie."

"Don't worry, Doan; we'll only get to check something out anyway." Ilia said without second thought. Just as fast Ro looked confused at her. He was actually expecting her to complain about the idea…but she didn't. She just walked past him and climbed down the ladder, he followed her, having Pookey on his shoulder.

After a few minutes of descending, they found themselves in a small room with a monitor and two doors, one to the left and another to the right.

"Strange place." Ilia commented.

"What's this computer for?" Ro walked to it, the same monitor in the middle of the room, but whatever he tried it didn't seem to respond. He gave up, guessing it would be broken.

"Pookey, do you know what's this place for?" Ilia asked, turning to him. Pookey jumped down from Ro's shoulder and walked to the door to the right. He stared at it.

"This door wasn't open before, squeak!" The rat just disappeared through the door.

"Pookey! Where're you going!" Ilia ran after him.

"Hey, wait!" Having no other choice, he ran after both of them. In the next room, he could barely notice the monsters that dwelled there, having as a priority to get to the next room where he hoped the other two were.

Ro stood at the entrance of a giant room, with a computer console in its center, and a flat monitor as a part of the wall in front of him. He felt awed and uncomfortable in such a place.

"Ro, are you alrigth?" Ilia was standing in front of him, as if she had appeared out of nowhere. "Pookey's standing there." She pointed to the console. "I don't know what he's doing, but it seems kinda interesting. Wanna check?"

"There's nothing else to see around here."

They both approached Pookey as he tried the keys. She wouldn't dare touch anything, since she has no experience in computers, but what she lacked there, she could make up for electricity and chemistry.

"What you got, Pookey?" Ro asked as he leaned against the console.

"Squeak! I think those kids that Jade and Doan were talking about opened this place.

"Maybe you're right." Ilia looked around her, gazing at nothing in the steel room. "I'm still wondering what this place was for?"

"Don't know. Have you found anything yet, Pookey?" Ro asked, still waiting for the monitor to turn on. Pookey walked to the other side of the console, having tried all the buttons: seeing this, Ilia started to reconnect the cables that seemed out of place. Pookey set his eyes on a particular button, having no name or letter to identify it. As soon as he tried it, the wires Ilia was holding at the moment snapped, and the monitor turned on.

"It's on!" Ro exclaimed as he watched it. Ilia got up from the open panel of the console, and Pookey jumped on her.

The image was blurry and was hardly describable. As the video played longer, it became more visible. It showed a green world with cities, and no storm; as suddenly as it appeared to be clear, the image got dark as night. From the ground, a red entity came, devastating the cities. The video ended there, with static, playing again in short sequences.

"What do you think that is?" Ro asked, watching the monitor.

"I don't know. But some of the places seem a little too familiar." Ilia answered. She felt Pookey climbing again to her shoulder.

"Squeak! It would be best to find out. This system won't give us the answers."

"Doan's the descendant of the Chief of this building." Ro took them by surprise. "We can ask him?"

"What if he doesn't know either? We don't have any idea of what it was." Ilia said. "We don't even know where to start."

"That's why we're not going to Melanie today." He said smiling.

"But…I…If Melanie gets you, you're going to get in a worse situation than Pookey has!"

I've survived worse punishments. Besides, if she would have found this, she would have left me as a caretaker and wander off."

"I know that! That's why I'm going to follow you and make sure you come back." Ilia said with mockery, and then smiled to him. Ro found this disturbing over time; how quickly Ilia could change her expressions, confusing him even more. But Melanie always knew what Ilia was trying to say. For him, maybe it was a girl thing.

_CTR_

"So you came back safely. Anything you found useful down there?" Doan said as he saw them climb off the ladder.

"No. There was a computer we tried, but we couldn't find anything." Ilia replied.

"Is that so? Maybe it malfunctions as time passed. I remember in my young years how the people told me they lasted forever." Doan sighed. He was an old man, as experience would tell, he has lived through a lot in this decaying world. And yet people manage to live by his warnings and rules.

"Doan, I need a favor from you." Ro said, as if the though passed through his mind without even thinking.

"What is it?"

"If Mel dares to ask where we are, tell her we're with you, or around the building."

"What are you planning?" Doan asked, already knowing the answer.

"We're going to search for some things, and is probably going to take days. Would you please do this?" Ro asked, looking straight at the old man. Doan wandered a few steps, for he suspected the reason was below the ladder.

"I'll do that favor, but you have to promise me to come quickly." He answered.

"Thanks Doan!" Ro answered happily.

"We'll make sure to come!" Ilia added. They both stuffed their bags with whatever they could need and maid there way out of the Dome.

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Coments:

First fic, capiche?Por favor, reviews, I really don't care how you do it...


	2. Seeing a Distant Mind

Disclaimer:

Chrono Trigger does NOT belong to me…Evur!...Do I have to write this in evury chapter?...,…

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Chapter two:

Seeing a Distant Mind

"They're gonna leave the Dome again." Melanie said.

"Yes." Doan answered back. They were inside a room in the building. Melanie came a few hours ago, in search of the two teenagers.

"I guess you have a good reason as to why they're leaving; and why you're breaking a promise."

"They went down there, where two days ago a group of teens brought us the seeds. They have somehow, restored our cause to live." Doan slowly breathes and sighs. "I guess that what they found, and what Ro and Ilia found, made them to search."

"…what are they searching for?"

"We have to wait for Ro, to find answers."

"What about the others?"

"The others…I think I have a good guess as to where they came from; or rather when."

Melanie looked at him confused. She could imaging something in relation with what he said. After all, he knows more about the cold past than anyone. He closed his eyes, trying to put in words his ideas.

"The way they were dressed, was not used in the Domes while I was still young. As far as I've read, those clothes, and their weapons were too primitive to be used in the last three hundred years."

"Are you saying they're from the past!" Melanie exclaimed. The question did take her by surprise, coming from her own voice without thought.

"Maybe; except for one of them. She somehow knew how things work around here; she could even use one of our weapons. I thought she was from around the city ruins…but it may be my imagination playing tricks on me. It is impossible that they could have come from the past. "

"Or the truth. It could be impossible for us; maybe for them it could be as easy as passing through a door." She halted for a second. "This building and many other places, even those people, hide things; memories. Maybe…I'm not ready to find out what those memories are." The room was silent for a short time, with the conversation hanging in the air.

"Are you not going to search for them?"

"They'll come back. They promised, right?" She smiled at him.

_CTR_

"You promised you would go back! Wouldn't this be a good point to return!" Ilia screamed. She was trembling from the cold that was falling with rage. Ro held her hand tightly, not letting go to reassure her.

"No way!" He screamed back. "I've never gone through that building!"

"What are we gonna find there!"

"Not therethere!" Ro said as he pointed a distant, blurry, white mountain over the sea. She could almost see the peak, and two domes, one closer than the other.

"But how are we gonna go there!" She asked.

"Pookey said through the sewer!" He answered.

The rat was hiding under Ro's hood, guiding him through the unseen road. In time, they reached the facility the led underground; the Sewers System. The place was ironically running, and the lighting was still in good conditions. Coming down the ladder, they managed to see a small yellow humanoid monster, with wings and one eye. As soon as the monster fixed his eyes upon them, it stopped in mid air.

"What! Humans!" It spoke in their language in panic; opening wide it's only eye and leaving.

"Hey, wait!" Ro exclaimed.

"Let it go. They're not used to this kind of visits." Ilia said not to surprise at the monster's reaction.

"Wait here." Pookey ordered them as he jumped off Ro and followed the yellow creature into the darker parts of the sewer.

Ilia managed to sit on the cold metal floor, right beside the ladder. "I still don't get what you're trying to do?" She complained as she took a small can of food and opened it.

"I heard in Arris, that an old man lives in the continent we're going." He turned to her, looking at her with a curious smile. "Doesn't it make you wonder what he's doing there all alone?" At the instant he made the question, a set of small footsteps and the flapping of wings could be heard in the dark. Ilia stood behind Ro, both staring at the dark way where the sound could be heard. The bright light at the entrance revealed a pair of small paws. It was Pookey holding the yellow creature by its legs, trying to fly away.

"It's just you!" Ro said, annoyed by the rat's silent appearance. Ilia stared down at Pookey for a moment.

"Since when can you walk straight!" She asked.

"I always did, Squeak!" Pookey replied. He then grasped one of the creatures arm and pinned it against the floor.

"Let go off me, you freaks!" It cried as it struggled to free itself.

"Squeak! Where's Sir Krawlie?" Pookey asked calmly. The yellow creature stopped struggling and saw them with a griming eye.

"I don't know!" The creature said, looking away.

"Squeak! Guard, you'd be better off telling the truth. Now take us to him, or it'll be your eye." Pookey threat sounded eerie with his voice. Neither of them had ever heard rat making threats to someone. Ilia though it was because of some old relationships.

"…fine! I'll take you to him. It isn't goint ta be my fault if he kills ya!" the creature laughed as it flew around them in circles. It suddenly stopped on one edge of the floor and quickly disappeared.

"Follow him." Pookey ran after it. Without much hesitation, Ro and Ilia sprinted too. The place was divided by the running sewer, and only small bridges connected each floor section of the place.

After much turning and crossing, they came upon a large corner platform. A long monster with a claw like tail and many legs, stood in the center.

"Did you find them?" The long creature's voice echoed strongly in the empty place.

"…no.." The yellow creature answered with difficulty. "B-But Sir Krawlie, these human intruders wanted to see you!"

"INTRUDERS!" He quickly crawled their way with anger. "Are you so desperate to die that you want me to shred ya?"

"We want to pass through the sewer to the Southern Continent, Squeak!"

Sir Krawlie changed his gaze from the humans to the rat, and smirked. "If it isn't Pookey. Last time I was gonna shred ya, you ran away! So tell me, are these humans the last ones? Do they wish to die in such a cold place down there?" Sir Krawlie said, amusingly laughing with the one-eyed creature.

"That's none of you're business!" Ro yelled, restrained back by Ilia.

"Can we make a deal to cross?" Pookey asked, already annoyed at the waiting.

"So the little rat wants to play my game!" Krawlie taunted him. He than sopped laughing, making the yellow creature confused at his boss's reaction. "I don't care what your business is in the Southern Continent. If you want to make it back alive and in one piece, you'll have to bring my underlings. Return without them and I'll have ya for dinner! Guard!"

The small creature flinched at his call. "Y, yes… Sir Krawlie?"

"Take them out of from to the south!"

"But…but Sir Krawlie!" The creature complained, flying at his master's head level.

"Do it! Or I'll shred ya!" Sir Krawlie ordered.

The creature flew toward Pookey, who still held a stern look, and signaled them to follow. Ro looked back at the creature called Sir Krawlie, but it already disappeared into the darkness beyond.

Again, they crossed the floors as the Guard opened new bridges to cross. Finally, they arrived at a platform with a ladder leading up.

"This is the end of the trip. Hope you remember the way humans! Hehe!" The Guard left flying away, it's mad laughing continuing to haunt the sewer. Pookey climbed on Ilia, looking the way the creature left as Ro climbed first.

"Ro, you think that Guard's going to cut off the bridges?"

"He'll do it. Plus, I doubt that his boss will keep his word." Ro climbed off the ladder and helped Ilia out. "Those underlings might come in handy when we return."

"And how do you expect them to help?" She asked amused.

"We'll just have to make them. They couldn't be "lost" if their boss is trying to find them in a deal."

"Meaning they're more of a coward than that Guard."

"You see my point. But let's worry about them later. We have to get out of this place." Ro opened the door, followed by Ilia. Out of the small dome, the sight wasn't any different from what they have seen in their lives. The foot of the mountain called Death Peak was clearly visible, but the mountain itself blurred in the grey storm. Ilia changed her stare to another dome; a larger one, just south.

"Hey, Ro!"

"Yeah!"

"Is that the place where the old man lives!"

"Could be!" Ro took the initiative to lead the way as the storm was getting more violent, carrying little to no debris around.

_CTR_

"We're here. What now?" Ilia asked standing in front of the main room in the dome.

"We go in and check it out." Ro said. He walk to the central door, still functional, and opened it. /the air inside was damp, and the lights didn't reach certain areas of the room. Immediately in front of them was a flat computer monitor, with halls on each side. Ro tried to start the computer for a few seconds, shutting down just as fast. Suddenly, they could hear murmurs from beyond the hall. They weren't surprised though, when they knew the voice was from an old man; the old man they were searching for. What surprised them was the other voice. They expected the old man to be alone, but they saw otherwise when they reached the end. A humanoid blue creature stood there watching at the old man. Its body was round, with long arms that appeared boneless. They slowly walked to the old man, who was working on the right side computer of the room.

"Excuse me." Ilia said. The old man stopped working on the computer and glanced at them.

"Well hello there. What are you doing here?" His speech was slow, but calm, as if he had no trouble of what's happening on the outside world.

"We heard from Arris Dome that somebody lived here alone, and we went out searching for him. We believe that's you." Ro looked from the old man to the blue creature then to him again. "But I didn't know you weren't alone." Ro answered. Pookey jumped from Ro shoulder to the floor and walked around. The old man looked back at the blue creature, understanding what the boy meant.

"Maybe I'm not. That Nu keeps praising me for what I'm doing. It's becoming really annoying." He turned his gaze upon the people in front if him. "You said you heard of me from Arris Dome; believing you came from there as well. You can rest here before asking me what, and why exactly did you came for."

"Thank you…um…What is your name?" Ilia asked, forgetting anything she knew about manners.

"Well, it's been a long time." He chuckled. He dressed in an oddly purple and blue uniform with a weird pointed hat. His white beard and bushy eyebrows that covered his eyes, could only show a short time of living experience in a world so vastly desolated. "My name is Belthasar."

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Please review, Pretty please! …No really… I feel more encouraged this way…

…Is this really coconut?...What do you mean no! What are you trying to sell me here!...Oh! This is a game?...but I wanted coconut!


	3. The Wings Called Epoch

Disclaimer:

You know the drill…Chrono Trigger DOES NOT BELONG 2 ME…that includes places, characters u're already familiar with and if the description of the characters I made up do seem like one of your family members, is purely coincidental…Yap yap.

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Chapter three:

The Wings Called Epoch

"Doan! I'm going down." Melanie said, gazing at the dark tunnel with only one ladder to get in or out.

"Are you sure you want to go in? Didn't you say you weren't ready to find what is down there?"

"I did, didn't I?" Melanie reminded herself, still with her eyes fixed down the ladder. Then, she turned to him, who was standing there, waiting for her to answer her own question. "I'm not ready to know, but if I keep waiting I'll never be. And…I guess that those people you saw or those kids…" She scoffed. "…weren't ready for it either. Yet, they are all doing something about it. They are searching the answers for their own questions. I want to search for my own answers as well."

Doan nodded, understanding her. "Ro and Ilia came back faster than I expected. You already know what's in the left door; I believe they took the one to the right."

Melanie smiled at his approval and went down the wide tunnel. She walked to the door Doan instructed her, and to her surprised, it was already unlocked. Melanie wondered if it was Ro's doing, or the other people. Leaving behind those thought, she walked in and ran, dodging the oversized insects and the security robots, reaching the only accessible door. Before she cold open it, her eyes shifted to a far door, encrypted with a strange golden symbol. "(There's one here too?)" She thought; the only door that looked just like that one, couldn't be open, even with dynamite.

Knowing only this, she continued through the door, finding herself inside a room with a monitor at its center running static. On the floor laid cables of different colors. Melanie didn't cared for them, but as she walked over them, she noticed that the image on the monitor changed. She looked back down and started to experiment with the known wires.

Not long, the image cleared, repeating the same footage. Melanie saw the ground breaking apart up ,then the image zoomed out, revealing a red unknown being coming from below, maybe a weapon for all she knew, then more static. As the scene repeated over and over, she could only think that it was 'alive'. "…what is that thing?"

_CTR_

"You mentioned yesterday that you were coming for me. For what exactly? Not many people come here." Belthasar asked. He was taking them through a long, uneven hallway. The blue creature, now known as a Nu, was leading the way with everyone else in tow.

"We went to the basement of Arris Dome, and saw a strange video of something destroying a world." Ro answered. "We though you knew something, living alone and near Death Peak."

By the given details, Belthasar knew what the boy was talking about, but preferred to keep such things to himself. "I am sorry to disappoint you. I'm afraid I know nothing of that matter."

"Where are you taking us?" Ilia interrupted nervously.

"There is someone who will seek my help soon." Belthasar said. The Nu opened the door and everyone passed through. The room was bigger than every other building they have ever seen, probably the biggest. At the far end, a long wide tunnel stretched with no end, and at the center of the room, laid a machine, built with the intention to transport people. With excitement, Ilia ran to the machine, watching from below and studying the cockpit.

"Whoa! This is what you've been doing all alone? Can I check inside?" She exclaimed, still looking around the machine amazed.

"Nobody has told you to! Can't you wait?' Ro said to Ilia.

"You might say that. I was the one who designed the Ocean Palace and the Blackbird." Belthasar laughed, responding to the question the girl said.

"What are those?" Ro looked at Belthasar, curious about what he just said.

"Just…some designs…I made long ago." Belthasar answered. Without waiting long for a clear answer, Ro walked below the machine, watching everything Ilia pointed. He noticed the machine was intended for travel, but he saw no wheels, or by that matter, wings.

"How is this thing supposed to move? It has no wheels." Ro asked, and Ilia came to realize what he asked glancing at the machine again.

"Move?...It will move alright."

"It's your machine, right? So what name did you give it?" Ilia asked as if the question snapped in her mind.

"Epoch."

"Epoch…sounds familiar." Ilia whispered. "Can I check inside?" She asked again.

"Sure you can. As long as you don't activate it, alright?"

"I'll be careful." She responded, picking up Pookey, who was there long enough to listen to the old man.

"Now, where were we…You said something about the machine moving." He looked now with a calmed face, and his eyes were filled now with a strange determination. "The Epoch will move, but not today, nor tomorrow—and my time is hastening. The whole reason of bringing you here is to ask for your help, to finish it."

"But you're not going to use it; it's not even suitable for this area."

"My situation won't allow me to use it; the person that can open the last door will." Belthasar answered. The door which he was talking about was embedded with a gold crest, and somehow he just made another way in into this room. Ro clearly remembers the same kind of door back at the domes. They even tried dynamite to open it, and even with that it stayed still.

"You're pet told me last night, that both of you were quite adept in this kind of machinery. Are you willing to accept this as a challenge?" Belthasar suddenly said.

"(Pookey's a pet? He'll want to hear this one.) A challenge…We'll do it. It'll be no problem for us." Ro said, quickly running to Ilia, telling her the news. She showed more excitement after hearing.

Belthasar couldn't believe that such energetic youths existed in a barren place like this. He walked to the teens and began giving them instructions on what's left to finish. Each second that passed drained his life, and gave another step to finish the machine. Maybe then, the 'Chrono Trigger', the one who will open the door, could save Schala and, if 'he' has the power, 'he' could change this future. But Belthasar's mind thought of a horrible possibility. If the 'Chrono Trigger' achieved in the changing of the future, what would happen to the teens, and everyone they know. People who were supposed to live would die; and those who did die would live. Some people could never be borne into this world. But that was no matter to think of it now, his only goal was to save Schala; the rest, he would leave it all to the 'Chrono Trigger'.

_CTR_

"I know what you're talking about now."

"What is it?"

"What you saw down there, is what destroyed our world. Everything from the similar domes to the storm less sky was our world."

"How can that be? Pookey has shown me all the weapons I know so far. Nothing existed that could destroy the world in a matter of minutes and leaving it that way."

"That's because it's no weapon."

"I was right then. That thing was alive. But what was its purpose then."

"That, I don't know." Doan sat silent. "Do you remember what I told you about those people?"

"You said they came from the past."

"Exactly, and if they saw that image…and came from the past-

"—they could change the future! If they really came from the past they can do it, right?"

"That is a possibility. But what if they came from the past and are unable to return."

Melanie kept silent and though for a few seconds. "I doubt it. I believe…no. I know they can go back whenever they want. And I know they are searching for a way to fix whatever that thing destroyed."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because it is what I would do. But I don't know how Ro and Ilia are. What are they doing? Will they come back soon?"

"They'll come back, not so soon knowing them. They think about you…"

"The way I make their lives impossible—"

"—and the reason you gave them to live."

_CTR_

"I'm gonna take a rest." Ilia jumped down from the machine and sat against a box, letting her eyes close for a rest. Ro watched until she was fast asleep. Then he began to check the notebook Belthasar wrote for the construction of the machine long ago.

It was rather easy to understand. The materials were abundant in the area, and most of them followed a construction already seen in the Domes. And that was it, some of the drawings followed a known construction, but the rest was unknown to him. It didn't have any known purpose for the machine. Out of curiosity, he started checking the unknown purposes for such part.

"What are you doing?" A voice from beside him asked. It was Ilia, partially awake, with Pookey on her shoulder.

"Do you see this?" Ro pointed in the notebook, glancing over the real thing.

"We already fixed that." Ilia answered.

Pookey jumped to the machine, looking around. "I see what you mean, Squeak!"

"You do?" She said annoyed.

Pookey went in the open panel. "Squeak! Ro knows that many of the things you've been working on don't make any sense."

"Can I see that?" Ilia asked for Belthasar's notebook and checked the diagrams. She passed the pages quickly, glancing and comparing everything that was in it.

"Pookey, can you check further in?"

"I had that in mind." He stated, making his way through the machine. In the meantime, Ro and Ilia jumped down from the ladder, and sat to eat, still watching the diagrams. At that time, Belthasar came into the room. Even if he tried his best to hide it, his sickness could be easily seen by anyone.

"I see you're taking a break. Did you have some trouble?" Belthasar asked, walking to them.

"We just finished the left side." Ilia answered, smiling, and then turning again to the notebook.

Belthasar looked at the already finished work. He was amazed at the speed and knowledge of the kids. Hardly what he expected from the rat's words. "Where is your pet?"

Pookey? He's checking some things for us." Ro answered, hiding the fact that what it was checking was probably what Belthasar didn't want them to know."

"He's not going to chew your work, is he?" He asked, scared this time.

"Na. He knows how to behave." Ro said, making a joke out of Pookey.

"What are you working on besides this?" Ilia said, finished with the notebook. "We saw you working on the entrance computer."

"It's nothing that amazing; I'm just leaving a task to complete to the Nu."

Ro got up and open the notebook in a particular diagram, the page he was working on earlier. "Can you tell me something?"

"Of course, what is it that you want to know?" Belthasar said. Ro showed him the page he recently opened, hoping he would get some answers.

"We already finished this part. But I don't know how it's supposed to work on the machine."

Belthasar hesitated a little for an answer. He could tell them how it all worked; against the idea of telling them all, he just chose something more of an excuse. "That's just a method of mine for energy supplying. I was the one who design after all."

"You mean you designed the whole system, the engine and everything! All by yourself!" Ilia exclaimed, looking up with amazement. She didn't knew much about engineering, but the discovery of such a machine inspired her to ask Ro time and again during their short time there.

"Well I did design it. Back then, I was younger, I even had some help from my people. Epoch, The Wings of Time, was my most ambitious project yet, and it still is."

"You said 'the wings of time'." Ro stated, now more curious with the machines name and purpose. "Is the 'Epoch' supposed to 'fly' in this weather?"

"No. I guess I don't have the time to plan on adding wings to the Epoch." Belthasar made a short pause, trying to remember something. "I have to get to my work now." He walked, slowly but surely, from the hangar and disappearing from sight.

"No clue, huh." Ilia said, getting up and teasing her friend.

"Just one; he called the machine 'Epoch, The Wings of Time'. I though it would be useful for finding new shelters and storage buildings, maybe more survivors, but he said he didn't had the time to model wings. That means he didn't have planned on adding wings in the first place."

The sounds of small metallic objects falling to the floor were suddenly heard. Ro and Ilia ran only to find Pookey holding his head. He probably felled from the panel.

"You OK?" Ilia kneed in front of Pookey, picking him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said with one eye closed. "The sudden flash just blinded me, Squeak!" He managed to jump to a nearby crate.

"What did you find?" Ro asked.

"Squeak! I've managed to find something really interesting. There is a weird engine inside, and from the looks of it, it does produce some energy. But instead of building it inside, the effect is made outside the machine, and from a distance, Squeak!" Pookey said, now looking inside the mess from where he was standing.

"Don't you think that man is hiding something? Every time I ask him about the machine he evades the question." Ro said.

"There could be a good reason for him to hide whatever it is. Even to how or why it should work, Squeak!"

"Maybe it's a time machine. You know, to change the future." Ilia giggle.

Holding his temper, he walked away to the right side of the machine. "C'mon. We've got work to do and you're not sleeping out of this one!"

"In case you didn't notice, I already worked with the right side last night." Ilia said with a perky expression. "But I haven't worked on the seats area. I wired the whole system, and I guess you could program the computer if it isn't."

Ro stopped and looked at her with a puzzled mind. "If the system is programmed…maybe I can hack into it!" Without a second thought he ran to the seats and jumped in, Ilia watching in from the outside. Ro started tapping the keys for information on the settings, but all he could find was just a single menu with years.

"It's already programmed, Squeak!"

"Yeah…but…I can't find anything. It's all set to choose a destination."

"End of time, dark ages, middle, I knew it had to do something with time, and I know he's cracked. Well, maybe not cracked, but how can he know it'll work?"

Ro looked at Ilia, and then turned to the monitor again. "Thanks for the comment. We'll be the ones figuring out if it works."

Ro tried one of the already set destinations. They waited, and nothing happened. Ro could only sigh in disappointment. Ilia smirked, approving to herself that Belthasar was indeed crazy.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine working inside the machine alerted them. They looked back to the source of the noise, then turned to the monitor, which it was showing the pressure of an unknown source. Ro hastily looked around the controls trying to understand what was happening. He then shifted his view to the front, Ilia and Pookey following suit.

The air in front of them seamed distorted at some degree. Like wavelengths emitting from one point, and the wall beyond that 'wave' mixed with its movement.

"What is that!" Ilia asked scared. The pressure of air caused a kind of wind with an eerie high pitch, making it impossible to hear clearly. Slowly, the 'wave' became smaller until disappearing. Most of the rags and papers that were blowing around, halted to a stop and fell.

The three of them stared at each other. Ilia was still shocked. Ro jumped out of the cockpit and caught Ilia's attention. "Now we know it works."

"Are you telling me it's really a time machine?" Ilia said, a bit amused a the thought.

"We can't prove if it's really a time machine. But at least we know that what Belthasar is doing is functional. Even if he doesn't make any sense of what he says."

"Squeak! If we finish faster, maybe he can give us the answers." Pookey commented. Ro and Ilia nodded, continuing with the last touches of the Epoch.

_CTR_

"You know that old man living in the southern continent."

"Yeah. I've heard of him. Everyone says he's cracked up. Ilia believed that too when I told her. But Ro seemed more amazed than amused." Melanie laughed shortly. "I always thought he was a little weirdo. I wonder if they went there. What is it with that man living alone?"

"That man's name is Belthasar. He might look as old as me, but I believe he's much older. I doubt he was born here."

"From when do you suggest he came from?"

"Zeal." The words came out of Doan's mouth with doubt. Melanie never heard that word in her life, and it somehow carried the mystery further down the rabbit hole.

"Zeal?" She repeated doubtfully. "When or what was that?"

"A theory, perhaps, of a kingdom that was believed to have existed long ago."

"Why a theory? What fact do you have to believe in that?"

"Lucca Ashtear was the only fact. Or rather she will be. Lucca saw with her own eyes the kingdom of Zeal; its beauty; its royalty; its power. It almost seemed like a fairy tale."

"And you believe this fairy tale is real, assuming that Belthasar came from that time."

"I believe that. Lucca wrote that Zeal fell because of overusing their new power source. Belthasar may have come to this time by accident."

"Could he be trying to go back?"

"Possibly. But to return and die; I think he's pursuing something else."

"This power source you talked about, the one that destroyed 'Zeal', did it had a name?"

"Lucca identified it only as Lavos. She never wrote a full description of the power source; she never mentioned if it was a tangible source. She just called it a parasite."

"A parasite used as a power source…never heard of that one. Any other person discovered something of this 'Lavos'?"

"I think a team of scientist did made research on that. Maybe you can find something in the ruins."

"I'll find something…"

* * *

Author's note: At last! It's finished! Get of my lap, cat! Oh didn't see you there. A word of warning: The chapters are gonna be longer from this point on. Not surpassing thirteen chapters, and there's not going to be action until chapter 8 or 9 from this first part.

The other three 'books' will have more action…Any reviews?


	4. Around Death Peak

Disclaimer:

I should quit saying this: Chrono Trigger is not mine, nor will be.

* * *

Chapter four:

Around Death Peak

A panel was shut close. Ro cleaned the sweat on his face, climbed down the ladder and met Ilia and Belthasar at the floor.

"Told you we were fast." Ro said. He then sat on the floor, tired from all the work, and looked at Epoch. The machine, now clean and shimmering with light, looked magnificent. The small size didn't compare to its true power.

"It's a real beauty, and my last work." Belthasar said, starring at the machine, he then turned to both teens, looking at them with a calm and thankful smile. "I thank you for all your help. My last task is almost finished; and you both know I'm dying. It is for the best that you return to your love ones."

The sudden words that came from Belthasar were both true and shocking for them, as if he knew what was coming for him. Ilia unable to talk, glanced at Ro.

"We can't for the moment. If we want to return we have to find someone first." Ilia said, with a grin of doubtfulness.

"How come?"

"We have to search for Sir Krawlie's underlings; it's the only way we can cross unharmed." Ro answered.

Belthasar was lost in thought, until a familiar voice answered.

"I saw them." The Nu, now walking toward them, spoke. His face not changing much.

"Where'd you saw them!" Ro said.

"They went to Death Peak." The Nu answered. Belthasar looked at the Nu a bit surprised, and afraid; for he knew that they were not the ones to climb it. But for a way back, they had to.

"We have to climb Death Peak?" Ilia complained. "That thing is to steep for us!"

"Squeak! It's not a problem with me. I can lead you through." Pookey said as he jumped on Ilia's shoulder.

Everyone kept silent, thinking of a way to climb it; or a reason to not climb it at all. After a few seconds, Ilia broke the silence.

"The best thing we can do right now is to plan ahead."

Ro looked at her with surprised, and agreed.

_CTR_

Melanie walked to Doan, with a device to download information. "I'm ready."

"You're truly going?"

"Yes. I know ….."

"Then…I wish you the best of luck." Doan said.

"I'll make it back safely." Without worry, she walked out of the Dome. Outside the outskirts of the wasteland, the storm continued its rage and slow destruction. Melanie put on her goggles and stepped on the cold ground. She started walking to her next destination; Lab 16.

_CTR_

"You know, we should spend this night here." Ilia said, as she was emptying a small metal crate.

"Why are you saying that? We don't need much, and I don't expect them to have climbed all the way to the top."

I know that! I checked outside and it doesn't look that good. I mean it's worse than other days! The wind could take me away!"

Ro got up from where he was sitting and walked around. If it is as you say, then there's gonna be a lot of snow tomorrow."

"When we return, what do you think Melanie will tell us?"

Ro flinched at the thought of having with the woman who was in care of them. "I don't want to think about it."

Ilia smile a bit. "You thought you could get away." She then looked at the Epoch. "Still, we haven't found anything."

"I thought that the old man could tell us something. But I do hope to find out about that video around here. Do you think we can find something else beside that?"

"That I don't know. But at least we came here." Ilia turned to leave. "I'm gonna check outside again."

"Sure." Ro answered as Ilia walked away. He then returned to sit on the floor, only to find Pookey standing in front if him. "I though you were asleep!"

"Squeak! Ilia wouldn't let me with all her racquet." Pookey sat by Ro's side, watching him sort out the materials needed at Arris Dome. "I heard what you two were talking about. The only thing I'll tell you is to be patient. Many like you lost their lives rushing things."

The door opened quickly, and Ilia came rushing in, gasping for air. "There are some strange people inside the building."

Ro and Pookey looked at each other, then got up and rushed behind Ilia out the room. They followed the messy hallway and stopped at the last door. Beside the exit, a small ladder led to the catwalk above. Ro was the first to climb, followed by Ilia. When they reached the top, they crouched near the limit, watching the main room from below. Belthasar was working on the computer and three teens approached him. The first one, a boy with red spiky hair; the second one, with a blonde ponytail, with not enough clothes to protect her from the cold; and the third one another girl with short purple hair, and a weird helm.

"Have you ever seen people like them?" Ilia whispered.

"No, but…" Ro whispered back. The three watched how Belthasar hadn't noticed the kids, and was murmuring alone.

"Schala…I've missed you so…" Belthasar spoke aloud before speaking to the teens.

"Who's Schala?" Ilia whispered again. She turned to Ro, who answered raising his shoulders. They both looked down again, and they saw the team with the red haired making their way to the exit. Ilia and Ro shared glances, and then they slowly got back to the hangar.

"Now that was weird." Ro said.

"Squeak! I've never seen guys like them." Pookey commented.

Ilia starred at them. "Did they pass through the sewer? Can we cross now, without looking for Krawlie's underlings?"

I don't know. But we can't rely on the idea that they did cross through the sewer and encountered him." The door behind them hissed open, letting pass Belthasar and his Nu He came in with a combination of emotions. Excited, scared, they were all caused by the sudden appereances of the people who came in. Belthasar approached them both.

"It's a good time that you go to Death Peak now. The winds have come to a small rest today."

"Finally!" Ilia ran to one of the crates, where their made backpack laid on the floor. She began sorting out the needed items.

"Who were those people?" Ro asked, turning to Belthasar. He, on the looked surprised.

"What people?"

"The three that came in here a while ago. Were they looking for you?"

Belthasar chuckled. "They were looking for me at the wrong time. They are…the ones who are going to change the future."

"Change the future?" Ro repeated in a low voice, that only Pookey would hear. Ilia came back back with her small backpack ready.

"You ready?" She asked happily. She then turned to Belthasar. "Thanks for everything. And for letting us tinker with your machine."

"We'll head straight for the sewer after Death Peak." Ro said.

"No, no. I should be thanking you. Now be on your way before the storm gets worse again."

Ilia and Ro nodded and walk off. Belthasar watched them disappear from the room. He was already feeling too sick to continue living. Belthasar fell to his knees, holding himself up with the help of the Nu.

"Master, are you ok?"

"Belthasar struggled to get back up. "Not for long. There is still something else I must do before I die."

CTR

Melanie was halfway through the snowy desert. She wondered why the winds stopped blowing so harshly and was now the weakest she has ever seen. "(Is the storm finally stopping? Or is it taking a small rest.)"

Suddenly she could hear a distant engine working. Melanie turned her view to the right and she saw a line of blowing snow coming from the ground. As the line changed direction her, she could see something like a 'car'. It was then that she realized that the object was coming straight at her at incredible speed. Melanie covered her eyes as the vehicle ran past, showering her in snow. Melanie peeked back to see who or what it was. She encountered a humanoid machine with a purple Mohawk and black shades.

"Hey, Mel!"

"J, Johnny!" Melanie exclaimed. She dusted the snow off her and walked to him. "What are you doing!"

"I was trying out my new snow wheels, and that's when I saw you." He said.

"And you showered me with snow!"

"Sorry, the breaks need a little work."

"Don't be a liar! Tell me the real reason! You told me you didn't need them when I gave them to you!" She pointed at him.

"I need new running places!" He answered in defense. Seeing that Melanie was still waiting for his true answer, he gave up. "Some red-head beat me at my own racetrack! With the old man's car!"

"Glad you lost." She smiled. "Hey can you take me to Lab 16?"

"What for! There's no track there!" He said, as she climbed on him. "Hey what are you doing?"

"Just get me there! Besides I gave you those wheels!" Melanie said.

"…I'll give you the ride, but don't get me in any of your problems!" Johnny started his engines and headed straight to the city ruins.

CTR

Ilia gazed up at the mountain and sighed. "This place is so steep, and we just walked the foot of it…I hate walking up mountains. It was easier just watching them from afar."

"This road isn't as steep as the others nearby."

"Squeak! At least you're complaining less. Finding Krawlie's underling isn't going to take long."

Ro took leadership, and started walking up the snowy mountain with Ilia behind him. Each step that he took was a slow one. The snow had accumulated over the centuries, making their steps fall down a little.

The way they were taking was clean through. Rocks and spiky formations stood to the sides, covered with snow and debris the wind carried there.

"This mountain feels a lot different. Squeak!"

"It looks the same for me." Ro answered back. He found himself without a comment from Ilia, which made him uneasy. "What's the mater?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking." She said. "Do you think Doan had already told Melanie we went away?"

"With so many days gone by, I hope he did. I don't want her thinking we're dead or something." Ro answered.

Halfway through the path, the environment around them changed with cliffs and caves. The wind was already picking up. Ro looked back at Ilia and pointed to a cave nearby. Understanding his signal, both of them walked into the closest cave.

Inside the cave, the air was cold, but not as freezing as it is outside. The winds blew with more rage, passing by the entrance. Ro and Ilia walked further inside, the light having no reach into that abyss.

"I guess this is it for today."

"Those underlings better be alive." Ilia said, sitting down.

"They're monsters. Squeak! They're used to this stuff."

Pookey sat on Ilia's lap, where he happily went to sleep. Ro gazed at the white wind blowing outside. "Something's weird here."

"Is it good or bad?"

"I don't know." He said. Ro sat beside Ilia. He reached for a few wood inside the cave and started a fire. "We better rest here for a while."

CTR

"Are you gonna tell me what you're searching for!"

"Ok, ok! I went down Arris Dome the other day and found a satellite video. I think there might be some info here."

Melanie and Johnny had long ago reached Lab 16 and were now walking to, what seems a building that survived the deterioration halfway.

"What about that computer leader of yours, (what was its name?) Mother Brain is it? Does she…it…whatever it is, know something?"

"That thing isn't my boss! And even if it does know, I couldn't tell you from here."

Both of them stopped at the entrance the building. Looking further beyond, gutters, cables, and the tiles from the floors above hung from the broken ceiling. Melanie stepped inside, followed by Johnny who had to crouch at some parts.

After a while of walking, they reached a part of the building that looked like a control room of sorts.

"This is what you've been searching for!"

"Well this is a computers center, or rather was. What did you expect?"

"I expected nothing!" Johnny replied. Melanie walked to a terminal. Most of the computers in the room were destroyed, only leaving some of use. Melanie hoped for at least one of them to be connected to the main computer of the building. She opened her small pc, which with the help of Pookey managed to fix and understand, and linked it. Melanie searched for all the files, but found nothing that had to do with what she saw at Arris, 'Zeal' or 'Lavos'.

"There's nothing here! What kind of center is this!"

"Are you finished! If there's nothing here, why are you wasting your time searching anyway!"

"I'm not finished yet." Melanie said as she continued searching until she found one of interest. "'Tempo projects'? Well this is interesting."

"What is?" Johnny asked scavenging for parts.

"This file. I'm going to take it with me."

"Aren't you gonna tell me?"

"Let's get outta here before you get stuck in the snow!"

CTR

"I think they're dead."

"Of course they're dead! They're humans."

Ro slowly opened his eyes at the noise that started in front of him. Two yellow frogs were now screaming at each other. He jumped at the sudden realization, throwing the two frogs near the fire.

"What are you trying to do, Cook us?"

"I told you they weren't dead!"

"Shut up!"

"Who are you two?" Ro asked. Ilium was standing up after Pookey jumped off her lap.

"We are Sir Krawlie's underlings."

Ilia looked down at them. "So they found us. Our ticket outta here."

"What do you mean by your ticket!"

"Krawlie sent us to search for you if we wanted to return." Ro stared at them for a second. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business!"

"We were hiding from Sir Krawlie!"

"You were hiding from your own boss?" Ilia asked amused.

"He was gonna shred us!"

"Shut up!"

"We returned, but then some intruders beat up Sir Krawlie and we ran away."

"We didn't run away! We were just making sure they didn't cross the sewer."

Ro looked at the frogs, blinking a few times. He though that maybe the 'intruders' the frog said were the people they saw at keeper's Dome.

"So, why are you here now?" Ilia asked.

"We followed you when we saw you climbing."

"We thought you could have made a great snack for Sir Krawlie."

"Well, then he can forget it!" She said. Ro smiled at her, and then walked to the entrance.

"Hey, where do you think your going!" The bossy frog said.

"We're heading back, now that we found you." Pookey said as he climbed on Ro. The two frogs jumped at the voice, looking at his shoulder.

"You're alive?"

"Didn't Sir Krawlie shred ya!"

'Squeak! He missed." Ro and Ilia both walked to the entrance of the cave. The frogs, having no other option, followed them. Ro watched the area beyond.

"Ready to go down?" He asked to Ilia, and she nodded. Both walked outside, through the thick snow. The wind was blowing strong, half-blocked by the many cliffs and rock pillars. They were now stepping in a small clearing, with the slope that would guide them down across.

Ro stopped in the middle of the clearing as Ilia walked past him. Just then, an eerie roar came from behind them, making both of them turn around. A reddish, spiky boulder was slowly creeping toward them. Scared, the two frogs ran away screaming in panic, leaving the others confused.

Ro turned back to Ilia. "Run! Go on ahead!" He yelled as he followed behind her. The creature stops its advancement making another eerie sound. The creature slightly crouched, as some of its shell was bulging. Ro stopped, looking back at the creature; it shot out bright lights in the air.

"Ro! Hurry up!" Ilia said. As soon as she talked she looked up as a rain of the same bright lights came pouring down in front of her, at the clearing. "Ro get out of there!" she yelled as it pummeled, it lifted a cloud of snow that moved with the winds. "RO!"

Ro managed to not get hit, as he made his way trough an untouchable white wall that kept rising and disappearing from the ground. He covered his eyes as another light plummeted right in front of him, one of the last ones to make it to the ground, covering him in a light white coat. The snow cleared, revealing Ilia at a fair distance waiting for him. Ro sprinted toward her, until he felt the ground beneath him slowly crumbling. He stopped, looking down to his feet, as the snow, the ice and the rock beneath broke apart.

He took one last moment to look at her. "Get away!" He yelled. Ilia was standing there, staring scared as part of the clearing was breaking apart, and as Ro disappeared. Rocks and snow lifted and turned over, falling inside a dark cave, and hiding any evidence of him ever standing there. Then, after the wind cleared, and the sounds of heavy boulders being shut quiet, only a dark bottomless pit stood in the middle of what was once

Ilia continued to watch, shocked. The wind still blowing and the same howling sound it made. The place felt the same as when they both arrived. And yet, she kept waiting for something, as the creature stopped to a rest on the other side. "Ro…" She whispered, only hearing the howling wind now and then.

Pookey jumped on her shoulder, with his head looking down. "We have to return now. Squeak!"

"That can't be! He must be hiding somewhere!" Ilia quickly said after hearing Pookey.

"He wanted you to be safe…We can wait for him, it's your decision." The rat said with concern. Ilia stood there a minute, until she finally spoke.

"Yeah. Let's go back."

CTR

"This is it. Arris Dome."

"Thanks for the Ride." Melanie said as she hoped off. "What are you going to do now?"

"Me? I have to get to Lab 32. Those kids want to race again. And that's what I live for!"

"Good Luck then. I don't think you're gonna win though."

"Why you!" Johnny was about to complain again, but rather left.

"Where could those kids be?" Melanie said to herself as she closed the small door that led inside the Dome.

* * *

Sorry I took so long. Life isn't as easy as I thought. Well R&R please! 


End file.
